Means for fastening cloth to game-tables.



A. F. HJORT. MEANS FOB FASTENING CLOTH T0 GAME TABLES. APPLIOATION rum) MAR. 13, 1912.

1,036,238, Patented Aug. 20, 1912.

AXEL F. I-IJORT, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS,

ASSIGNOR TO THE BRUNSWICK-BALKE- COLLENDER 00., OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

MEANS FOR FASTENING CLOTH TO GAME-TABLES.

Application filed March 13,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, AXEL F. Rama, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in lVIeans for Fastening Cloth to Game-Tables, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates in general .to means for stretching and fastening cloth or other fabric upon game tables and articles of fur niture where it is desired to cover an entire surface of the said table or article with a tightly and evenly stretched sheet of any desired material.

The invention is particularly applicable to game tables of various sorts, and will be hereinafter described in connection with a billiard table, although it will be understood that it may be used with equal efficiency in connection with card tables, desks and wherever smooth, even cloth surfaces are desired.

I am aware that a number of devices have been tested and employed to a limited eX- tent to stretch the cloth as it is secured in place upon these tables, but these have proven, so far as I am aware, so inetticient and so tedious in operation that they have been abandoned. The custom is now to stretch the cloth over the table by hand and to tack it or otherwise retain it in position while it is manually held in place. \Vhere the cloth is stretched by hand, particularly upon large tables, the operation is a tedious one and incapable of performance except by the most skilled operators. \Vhen so fastened it has been found difi'icult to remove the fastening means when it is desired to re-stretch the cloth, or to temporarily remove it to repair the bed or other parts of the table, without damaging and not infrequently destroying the cloth.

A principal object of my invention is to provide a simple and inexpensive device that may be permanently attached to a game table or other article of manufacture which will provide means for stretching the cloth evenly and securing it in said stretched position upon the top or bed of the table, and to so construct said device that it may be efiiciently operated by persons comparatively unskilled in positioning the cloth on billiard and other game tables.

A further aim of my invention is to so construct the said device that the cloth may Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 20, 1912.

1912. Serial No. 683,415.

be readily released and restretched or removed without damage to the cloth.

Additional aims and advantages of my invention will be apparent as the invention is better understood from the following description, which taken in connection with the accompanying drawings illustrates one preferred embodiment thereof.

On the drawings :Figure l is a transverse sectional view of a part of the top of a billiard table equipped with my invention Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the device with parts broken away showing the method of stretching the cloth of the table in Fig. 1. and securing it in place; Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a clip forming a part of the de vice shown in Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a perspective of such a clip shown with the means for operating it, and Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing a clip provided with an integral operating handle.

For the purpose of illustrating my invention I have shown the same in position upon a billiard table which is composed of a supporting framework 11 upon which is secured the horizontally disposed members 12 extending along the four sides of the table, upon which rests the slate slab 13 forming the top or the bed of the table. Over the slate slab 13 is disposed the cloth 14 of ordinary billiard cloth held in place as will be hereinafter disclosed by a device embodying my invention. Above the cloth and resting upon the cloth and slate is the rail 15 of ordinary construction. The rail 15 is socured to the bed of the table by means of a plurality of lag screws 16 extending through the slate and frame 12.

A preferable form of my device for stretching the cloth and fastening it upon the table consists in the member 17 secured to the side of the table as is disclosed in Fig. 1, and the clips or rotatable fingers 19, mounted thereon. The member 17 is preferably secured in some suitable and permanent manner to the side of the slab 13 and the members 12, although it will be obvious that it may be fastened to either alone. At the top of the said member the material is rolled back to form a flange parallel to the main portion of the said member as at 18, the said flange being spaced apart slightly from the main member so that a receiving channel is provided between the flange and the main portion whose use will be hereinafter defined. I provide a plurality of clips or fasteners 19 and mount them preferably upon the said member 17 below the said flange, although it is obvious that they may be mounted upon the side of the table if desired without affecting their efficient operation. These clips are designed to be inserted between the flange and the main portion of the member 17, and to this end are movably mounted to permit an end 21 of each clip to be inserted therebetween. I find that the best results are obtained where this movement of the clips is rotary, and in the preferred form of my invention I disclose them as being pivotally connected to the member 17 as at 20 although it will be understood that the invention contemplates any other movement that will insert the ends of the fingers or clips as hereinbefore disclosed. The clips 19 should be of a length to cause the end of the finger when at the limit of its upward movement, as shown in Fig. 1, to be very nearly in contact with the junction of the flange 18 and the main portion of the member 17. To cause the clips 19 to rotate about their pivotal connection I have disclosed two preferred means for operating them, although it will be obvious that a number of other expedients may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention.

As disclosed in Figs. 3 and 4 each clip may be struck up as at 22 to provide a pair of embracing lugs 23 within which may be inserted an operating key 24 adapted to retate the said clip as hereinbefore described. Where this form of clip is used it will be obvious that one key will serve to operate an indefinite number of clips.

In Fig. 5 a clip 19 is disclosed wherein the clip itself is provided with an operating handle 25 formed integrally therewith by extending the portion of the clip beyond the pivotal connection.

In operation the side of the cloth 14 is drawn snugly downwardly over the flange 18 and the fingers 21 of the clips are rotated upwardly over the outside of the cloth, stretching it over the flange 18 and pressing it firmly against the sides and top of the channel between the flange 18 and the main portion of the member 17. To permit the clips to pass easily over the outside of the edge of the cloth they are preferably offset adjacent the base of the finger, as at 21', and the said fingers slightly inclined toward the member 17 to permit them to enter the said channel.

To stretch the cloth upon a table, whose bed is provided on each of the four sides with a member 17 and the clips 1.9 mounted thereon, it is necessary first to secure the cloth at one side of the table by disposing it evenly over the said bed in such a manner that an edge of the cloth hangs over and beneath the flange 18 a substantial distance where it will be held by rotating the clips 19 as hereinbefore described. \Vhen all the clips along one side of the table have been rotated the cloth will be found to be evenly and securely fastened to the member 17 upon that side. The cloth is then drawn snugly down over the flange of the member 17 upon the opposite side of the table, whereupon rotation of the clips 19 similar to that already described in connection with the securing of the cloth upon the other side of the table will stretch the cloth upon the table by pulling its edge downwardly over the flange and upwardly between the flange and the main portion of the member 17. The clips will hold it in this position by pressing the cloth against the top and sides of the groove between the flange 18 and the main portion of the said member 17. Similar operations upon the third and fourth sides will complete the positioning of the cloth.

After the cloth is in position the rail 15 may be secured in place by disposing it upon the bed of the table and inserting the lag screws 16 in proper apertures in the said rail, bed and members 12, the lag screws passing through the cloth upon the bed of the table. The tightening of these screws will further aid in holding the cloth in its stretched position. About the edges of the table are provided the finishing members 26 constructed to provide a recess between the side edges of the bed and the said member and secured in place by a series of screws 27 and the retaining groove 28 in the rail. The lower edge 29 of the member 17 may be bent as shown in Fig. 1 and inserted beneath the member 12 to more securely fasten the member 17 in place. \Vhen the edge 29 is bent and positioned in this manner it will be embraced between the finishing member 26 and the lower surface of the member 12 and firmly secured in place by tightening the screws 27.

It will be apparent that as the cloth stretches while in position upon the table it may readily be loosened and fastened again under the desired tension. This operation consists merely in removing the finishing member 26, rotating the clips 19 and drawing the edge of the cloth thus loosened over the flange 18, and turning the clips and finishing member into position as before. It will be manifest, moreover, that no particular skill is necessary to the manipulation of a stretcher and fastener made in pursuance of my invention and that the cloth of the table may be readily removed to repair the slate and replaced in position without damage to the said cloth. It will be obvious, also, where said device is used, that a uniform tension will be produced over the entire playing surface of the table.

It is evident that various changes in the mechanical details of the construction of parts and their arrangements may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or scope of my invention, or sacrificing any of its advantages, the form hereinbefore described being merely one preferred embodiment thereof.

I claim 1. A device for fastening cloth on game tables, comprising a member adapted to be secured to the side of the bed of a table, and means mounted on and cooperating with said member for drawing the cloth over the said member and securing it in position.

2. A device for fastening cloth on game tables, comprising a member adapted to be secured to the side of the bed of a table and provided with a downwardly and outwardly depending flange, and means cooperating with the said member for stretching the cloth over the said flange and securing it between the said flange and the main portion of the said member.

3. A device for fastening cloth on game tables, comprising a member adapted to be secured to the side of the bed of a table,

said member being provided with an outwardly and downwardly depending flange,

and an element movably mounted beneath the said flange and adapted to move upwardly between the flange and the main portion of the member to draw the cloth tightly over said flange and to secure it between the said flange and said main portion.

4. A device for fastening cloth on game tables, comprising a member adapted to be secured to the side of the bed of a table, said member being provided with an outwardly and downwardly depending flange, and a plurality of clips rotatably mounted beneath said flange, each of said clips being provided with a finger adapted to be inserted between the said flange and the said main portion of the member to draw the cloth tightly over the said flange and secure it between the said flange and the main member.

5. A device for fastening cloth on game tables, comprising a member adapted to be secured to the side of the bed of a table, said member being provided with an outwardly and downwardly depending flange, and a element rotatably mounted beneath the said flange, said element being bent outwardly adjacent its center of rotation and inclined inwardly beyond said outward bend and adapted to enter between the main member and said flange to draw the cloth over the said flange and to secure it between the said flange and the said main chamber.

6. A device for fastening the cloth on game tables, comprising a member adapted to be disposed along the edge of the bed of a table, said member being provided with an outwardly and downwardly depending flange at one side and having the other side bent to engage the bottom of the said bed, and means mounted on the said member for drawing the said cloth over the said flange and securing it between the said flange and the main portion of the member.

7. A device for fastening the cloth on game tables, comprising a member adapted to be secured to the side of the bed of a table, said member being provided with an outwardly and downwardly depending flange, a rotatable element mounted on the said member and adapted to draw the cloth of the table over the said flange and to secure it between the said flange and the main portion of the said member, and means for rotating the said element.

AXEL F. HJORT.

Witnesses:

JOHN EHREUPREIS, H. J. COLLINS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C."

Correctitn in Letters Patent No. 1,036,238,

It is hereby certified that in Letters Patent No. 1,036,238, grant-ed August 20, 1912, upon the application of Axel F. Hjort, of Chicago, Illinois, for an improvement in Means for Fastening Cloth to Game-Tables, an error appears in the printed specification requiring correction as follows: Page 3, line 61, for the word chamber read member; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Oflice.

Signed and sealed this 17th day of September, A. D., 1912.

C. C. BILLINGS,

Actng Commissioner of Patents.

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